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| KILMARNOCK 5 - CAITHNESS - 0 by Iain Grant |
| Thu 13th Dec 2007 |
THE Greens go into tomorrow's clash with Highland at Millbank in much better fettle than when they travelled down to the tussle in Inverness.
That chastening 56-13 reverse was towards the start of a long barren run when the fates conspired to throw just about every spanner in the works at new coach Jim MacMillan.
His young charges have shown fortitude and grit in weathering that spell to ease their relegation fears with a series of excellent results.
A glance at the congested nature of the bottom half of Scottish Hydro-Electric National League Division 2 indicates that they are by no means out of the woods in terms of retaining their place. But a continuation of the form and application they have shown over the past half-dozen matches will ensure the doubts are banished sooner rather than later.
Last Saturday, they narrowly failed to record for the first time this season three wins on the spin. They came up just short in the glaur of east Ayrshire against opponents whose narrow victory allowed them to leapfrog Highland into third spot.
Caithness had hoped the major drainage works at Millbank had consigned to history matches they had to play on gluepot surfaces more suited to rice-growing. But they were reacquainted with the challenge of coping with just such conditions on their second outing at Bellsland.
"It was a complete quagmire," reflected coach MacMillan. "It was like Millbank used to be at its worst 20 years ago."
Within a quarter of an hour or so, it was difficult, if not impossible, for the referee to distinguish the rival strips. The home squad changed their predominantly lilywhite jerseys at the interval but within a short time they took on the uniform loamy brown appearance of their opponents.
The dreadful underfoot conditions inevitably reduced the quality of the rugby and generated many turgid spells when the ball was rarely in open view.
Caithness were unlucky not to convert two of the match's very few scoring opportunities, both in the first half.
A lengthy sequence in the Killie 22 culminated with fly-half Gary Mackay putting Stevie Campbell in space. The hooker raced clear to touch down at the posts, only for play to be recalled for a marginal forward-pass call.
Then, after a home move had broken down near the end of the first half, scrum-half Kris Hamilton and centre Blair McIntosh successively hacked forward. With the defence struggling to recover, McIntosh opted to kick again, rather than risk knocking on or himself aquaplaning if he stooped to try and gather.
The ball, however, stubbornly stuck in the mire and the chance was lost.
Within a minute, Kilmarnock broke away with an attack which was finished off with winger Graham McCue sprinting in unopposed wide out. The missed conversion was the final action of the half.
Caithness enjoyed plenty of possession after the turnaround but failed to breach a committed defence. The home side likewise made little headway, with their cause hit by handling errors after they had established promising positions.
Coach MacMillan said: "The conditions made it really hard going but I thought it was another really good performance. With the amount of possession we had, we probably should have got more out of the game than we did. We got a bonus point but I'd say we deserved a draw, if not a win."
The coach was delighted with late call-up Hamish Coghill's first start for the club. Coghill partnered skipper Ewen Boyd in the engine room for the whole 80 minutes and put in a power of work.
Another of the young brigade, Kris Gove, also did well on the wing, while MacMillan's experience helped when he came off the bench for a rare outing.
Looking forward to tomorrow's match, Graham Fryer is back offshore while Aberdeen student James Paterson is also unavailable.
William Mill will return to the starting line-up, while forwards Danny Gordon and David Pottinger will also strengthen the squad. Halde Pottinger's good looks took another knock with a broken nose sustained early in Saturday's match but he is expected to start in the front row.
Successive defeats versus Allan Glen's and Kilmarnock have all but killed off Highland's promotion hopes. But they will be desperate to get back on the winning track and complete a double over their rivals.
The Inverness outfit were idle last Saturday when their home match against Grangemouth was called off.
Caithness are hoping tomorrow's match can go ahead on the main pitch for the first time since the drainage works. The club is hoping fans will forgo Christmas shopping to help boost the touchline support. Kick-off is 2pm.
Caithness: J. Paterson, K. Gove, B. McIntosh, D. Smith, G. Fryer, G. Mackay, K. Hamilton, H. Pottinger, S. Campbell, R. Pottinger, E. Boyd (captain), H. Coghill, G. Anderson, E. Sutherland, A. Morris. Replacements (all used): J. MacMillan, D. Wright, G. MacLeod.
* The top-of-the-table battle on Saturday ended with Dumfries going down 7-3 at home to leaders Howe of Fife.
Stewartry's 12-7 defeat at home to Newton Stewart deepens their relegation fears, while Glasgow Accies remain in the dogfight at the bottom after being edged out 17-15 by Linlithgow at New Anniesland.
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| 1st XV Season (2010/11) |
| Caithness 25 - 27 Kilmarnock |
| 4th Sep 10 - KO: 15:00 |
| Venue: Millbank |
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| 1st XV Season (2010/11) |
| Stewartry vs Caithness |
| 11th Sep 10 - KO: 15:00 |
| Venue: Greenlaw |
| :: More Fixtures |
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